Veteran Vintage & Classic Motorcycle Club of ACT

Past Annual Rally Reports

2004 Club Rally

January 24th-26th Annual Rally

Our 27th Annual Australia Day has now come and gone. Most of
the feedback that I have received indicates that most of the participants had
a great weekend. From my point of view all of the hard work by the myriad of
helpers was all worthwhile. We had three days of great weather, terrific rides,
tremendous machines and lovely people, with only a few glitches along the way.
I hope that you enjoy this 'Special Edition of Bike Torque' as your own personal
memory of the weekend.

This year we had rearranged the Rally schedule to have the Saturday
run commence at 10:00am. This meant that 'Late Entries' were not accepted on
the day. My apologies to anyone that missed out; but please get organized earlier
next year as we will again not accept entries on the day. Entries will again
close 'absolutely' on 14 January 2005, with a $25 late fee for those received
after 7 January 2005. Please get your entries in on time next year to avoid
disappointment and the late fee.

At about 9:45am the Rally Director (yours truly) got on the
end of that darned megaphone again for the customary 'Attention in the Pits,
Attention in the Pits' and welcomed one and all to our 27th Annual Australia
Day Rally. After the marshals were mustered and dispatched by our Grand Marshall
Lyn, 'Rally Director and general factotum Bill' called for the veteran bikes
to lead us out. A special request was also received from Bill Guthrie on the
mighty Lambretta scooter to accompany the veterans. I guess he was concerned
that all of his 150cc would work on the day, or maybe he was expecting headwinds.
The veterans and scooter were followed shortly thereafter by the rest of the
mob. The run to Gundaroo (for a few quick drinks at the newly renovated wine
bar) was a very pleasant ride. The wine Bar staff had been pre-warned to expect
thirsty bikers at about 10:30am and were all set for us when we arrived. The
weather was excellent (mid 20s) and this was better than last year when we encountered
35ºC. This was one of the benefits of a morning ride. The 140 bikes were an
impressive sight at Gundaroo and we only had a couple of bikes that 'failed
to proceed'. Quite a few broke down on the way, but several were repaired 'en-route'
and only Geoff Nicholas' 1905 Peugeot and Harry Julian's HD had to be 'trailered'.
Nicho's Peugeot broke down in the same manner as last year (retaining pin on
the exhaust valve), although he made it a lot further this year. He assures
me that he will perform a 'permanent fix' on the Peugeot for next years Rally.
Eric Larson was seen slowing considerably going up the hills on his newly acquired
1914 BSA. He found out later that there is a special setting on the carby for
'on the move' adjustment to give more power up hills. Graham Froud's 1907 Triumph
was also spotted on the side of the road whilst Graham made some minor adjustments
(fitting new exhaust valve, I think). Both Eric and Graham made it to Gundaroo
without the need for the trailer. Mark and Robert Hewson were not so lucky with
their Ariel Square Fours. They refused to run smoothly at EPIC and could not
make the run (they won the 'Hard Luck Trophy, bad luck). Mark thought that they
had received a dose of bad fuel.

After a few cool drinks we headed back to EPIC for the 'category
lineup' and the machine judging. It was a fantastic array of quality bikes,
well done one and all. This year we had a good range of about 145 veteran, vintage,
classic and modern machines from 1905 to 2004. It was certainly the best spread
of bikes we have seen in recent years with many quality bikes in almost each
category (we need a few more Military machines to give Jim Carmody a bit of
competition; watch this space, we will invite the 'Military Machine Club' next
year). After the judging a hot roast spud lunch was served by Bob Hardy and
his lovely assistants from Rustler's Spit Roast. It was delicious although some
unfortunate folk missed out on a spud. For those that missed out (about 8 people),
please accept our sincere apologies. We will ensure that this does not happen
next year; no lunches will be available for purchase on the day until all of
the pre-booked diners have had their fill (including marshals).

After lunch, Rob Harris and Nick ran the Motorkhana events,
beginning with the slalom, followed by the slow ride and judgement ride. The
spectators marveled at the skills and speed of the demon on that blue '29 Beesa
Sloper when he went through without a penalty in the slalom (but was bit too
slow unfortunately). Then last years winner, Howard Kneebone, 'lined up' on
his nimble Jawa. He went out at a cracking pace, but alas put his foot down
at the turn for a 5 second penalty. He had a second go 'for fun' and actually
went through quicker than the winner, but the rules state only one official
run per entrant. Bad luck Howard, better luck next year. The slow ride was hotly
contested, although that bloke on the blue Beesa Sloper thought that discretion
was the better part of valour and did not appear. I understand that he has just
had its carby resleeved and is still sorting out the correct starting procedure!
Howard Kneebone was so worked up after his poor effort in the slalom that he
blitzed the field by more than 1½ seconds. Well done Howard. The Judgement event
followed and Howard was again keen not to be outclassed. He went through the
sticks cleanly with them 80mm narrower than his bike. The only problem was that
he forgot to read the rules. The trick is to judge the width of your bike exactly.
The rules state 'too narrow and you are disqualified'. Never mind, now you know
for next year. Sue Cramp on her BMW had a perfect score, negotiating the sticks
without knocking them over and at exactly the width of her bike. Bravo! The
full results are provided at the end of this report; well done to the winners.

After the Motorkhana most people settled down for some motorbike
stories and a few light refreshments before getting ready for the presentation
dinner. This is part of what motorbike rallies are all about; socializing with
like-minded converts to the classic motorbike cause. Many a story has been told
and bikes fixed during these segments at the various rallies attended. The dinner
commenced at about 7:00pm when about 150 people gathered in the Quokka Pavillion
for a sumptuous two course Rustler's Spit Roast dinner. 'Yours truly' called
the diners to the servery on a 'table by table' basis in random order. (By the
way, I understand that he is open to bribes if you want to eat earlier!) In
between the main course and dessert we ran the raffle with many 'happy campers'
winning prizes. I counted at least 12 'shell caps' going out the door. Many
thanks to all of our prize donors (listed elsewhere).

After dessert Barbi conducted the official proceedings for our
'Rally Rascals', the young at heart bikers. Barbi had arranged showbags, a colouring
competition, 'Kid's Choice' bike judging, etc for the kids. The colouring competition
was contested in four age group categories and the judges were so impressed
with the entries that everyone won a prize! Barbi had David Nielson helping
to officiate and well done to all of the 'rascall' winners. It was a great hit
with the kids; the look on Rhiannan Darderi's face when she won her 'Junior
Rascall' bear was priceless. Thanks to Barbi and Rod for running the 'Rally
Rascalls' program. Barbi finished off with a poem tribute to the Rally as follows:

My, Mum was shocked with horror
I'd spent the night with Pierce and Norman
She told me off and roared that
my behaviour wasn't normal

By now I was too wary
To mention any names,
Didn't have the heart to tell her
I'd been out with Ace and James

The crunch came when I left again
And Mum was all a-fluster
I'd gone out with Francis Barnett
But showed up with Augusta

I finally told her not to worry
Can imagine how she feels
And so I did inform her
All these 'loves' were each two wheels

I had to reassure her
That while through life I plod
I've only had one real love
Reserved for my V-Rod

The official presentations then followed with some very impressive
machines and riders winning the various categories. A list is provided at the
end of this report. A very special thankyou to all of our various Trophy sponsors
(listed elsewhere). Two special awards were provided this year. Bob Lawrence
won the 'Furthest riden' award and when Steve Miller found out that Bob was
getting the award he was a bit peeved, as he had come from California! But before
he could complain too much, he was awarded the 'Furthest Travelled' award. Both
received a VVC Club cap and a certificate for their efforts. Well done. Just
for the record we also had participants from as far as Cobar, Coffs Harbour
and two riders even came down from Wyongah (check your maps) for the day on
Sunday. The evening began to 'slow down' at about 10:30pm with most people well
'fed and watered'.

Sunday's ride was to Lanyon for morning tea, via Majura Rd,
Anzac Parade, Lady Denman Drive, Cotter Rd, Uriarra loop and the back road.
It was a lovely ride of about 105km with winding country roads, overcast skies
and low 20ºC temperatures. The Urriara loop and sweeping bends on the back road
were particularly enjoyable. Many riders congratulated us on the ride. The only
slight drawback was the dusty 1km driveway into Lanyon Homestead. We will see
if there are any other options to eliminate this slight problem next year. I
agree that after 100km of cruising, an old classic British bike might have traces
of oil around the engine that could attract dust like iron filings to a magnet!
Keep an eye out for next years program with possible improvements in this regard.
There were a few mishaps along the way, with Alan Lowe's lovely 1914 V twin
Matchless deciding to 'let the rear piston go'! The head of the piston came
off and exited the engine through the head. Apparently the pistons should have
been riveted and welded, but were only welded. Alan assures us that it will
be repaired and on its way again in due course. On arrival at Lanyon, Ross,
Nerida, Helen, Sue and Lynn had prepared a fantastic spread of sandwiches, cakes
and pikelets. They went down really well with either a cool drink or a welcome
'cuppa'. We really are spoilt by our band of willing kitchen helpers; thanks
heaps guys! After an hour or so, we were again on our way back to EPIC via Point
Hutt Crossing, the Tidbinbilla back road, Coppins Crossing, William Hovell Drive,
and the Barton Highway. It was a great ride back, although a 'marshalling mishap'
meant that a few of our marshals were left out for an extra hour or so before
we realized that they were 'missing'. Our sincere apologies go to Floyd Primmer,
James Primmer (and girlfriend) and Hector Sunderland (and Tim). We will put
procedures in place to ensure that it does not happen again.

On arrival back at EPIC Rustler's Spit Roast was waiting to
serve us some hot roast rolls. We were entitled to two rolls per ticket, although
Rustler's wanted to ensure that everyone had one first before 'issueing' the
second. They were delicious and most feedback on the catering arrangements were
very positive.

Sunday afternoon was a chance to relax or go for a 'self-managed'
ride. The Shoalhaven Crew decided to ride to Yass, via the Medway 'Ranch'. I
understand they had a great ride. The rest of us had a good relax with even
more bike stories and liquid refreshments.

Monday morning saw us gather about 27 bikes and riders for a
ride around the lookouts. It was again lovely weather and we had a very pleasant
and comfortable ride to Telstra Tower, Redhill Lookout and Mt Ainslie lookout.
At Mt Ainslie we were treated to a 'front-row seat' for a 21 gun salute from
the Army and a terrific flying display from the RAAF Roulette aerobatic team.
Most of the riders were very impressed that I had organized the display and
salute (well my 20 years in the RAAF did give me a few contacts). On return
to EPIC most of the campers gathered their 'goods and chattels' for the journey
home. A few of us spent a couple of hours doing the obligatory cleanup and then
the Rally was over. Many thanks to the clean-up crew: Roy and Gwen Jury, John
Broad, Ross Everitt, Lorraine Litster, Peter Toet, Ann Heffernan, Rod Greschke
and Steve Butcher (apologies if I left someone out).

Overall, it was another really great Rally. This year we were
certainly blessed with the weather, despite the threat of afternoon storms,
etc. Our regulars and newcomers alike all commented on how good the Rally was.
I can only thank sincerely the band of ever faithful helpers that give up their
time to make it a success. Well done one and all. Many thanks to our trophy
sponsors and prize donors as well (complete list elsewhere in this Bike Torque).
For the record, we had 136 machines entered from 140 entrants with 21 Triumphs,
20 BSAs, 16 BMWs, 13 Hondas, 9 Velocettes, 8 Nortons, 6 Ariels, 6 Indians, 6
Kawasakis, 4 Ducatis, 4 AJSs, 3 Harley Davidsons, 3 Matchless, 3 Suzukis and
many others. We had 42 family members (spouses and 'rascalls') and sold 160
Rally badges.